Fate:Zero Chance
by Keeper of Harmony
Summary: When the corrupted Holy Grail messes with the summoning of five of the seven Masters, they summon Servants that they weren't quite expecting. The Fourth Holy Grail War will not be anything like anyone was expecting. Inspired by TIM's Fate Zero Sense.
1. Reversal of Fate

**I'm back, and with a new story. The Alternate Servant fic.**

**Inspired by The Infamous Man's story, Fate: Zero Sense.**

**Beta'd by Augustino Aligieri, who has also written an Alternate Servant fic called FateZero: Revolution of Dice. Check it out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. So ha.**

**XXXXX**

**10 Years before the Fourth Holy Grail War  
The Chamber of the Greater Grail**

Within the cavern beneath Mt. Enzo, the Greater Grail prepared the vessels for the spirits to be summoned in the coming years for the War. However, within the Grail, a certain malevolent spirit was bored nearly to hell.

'_Gah! This is so fucking boring!'_ Angra Mainyu thought to himself as his spirit rested in the Greater Grail.

'_I wish it were possible to die from boredom. Then I could go have some fun in hell rather than sit in this damn machine!'_ The container of All the World's Evil continued to rant in his mind.

'_Maybe obtaining knowledge beyond imagination will relieve my boredom,'_ Angra Mainyu thought as he used his connection to the Throne of Heroes to access the storeroom of all knowledge in Akasha.

As he observed the records through his mental connection, Angra Mainyu stumbled upon a series of 'files' marked 'Alternate Universes'.

'_Oohoohoohoo,'_ Angra Mainyu cackled darkly, opening the 'files'.

'_This is interesting. Very interesting, indeed. Perhaps I'll emulate these universes. This could supply me with enough entertainment to sate my boredom,'_ Angra Mainyu thought gleefully, laughing like a madman.

The evil container spread his consciousness throughout Akasha and the Greater Grail, focusing on his task of messing with fate.

'_Rearrange this, remove this, move this here, funnel this into the Grail…There! It's ready! Hehehehehehe! This will be so COOL!'_ The dark creature cried in his mind.

'_Now, what to do for the next decade?'_ All the World's Evil thought to himself.

**XXXXX**

**2 Weeks Before the Fourth War  
Fuyuki Church**

"Kirei, Tokiomi has contacted me. It is time for you to summon your servant," an old man with long, greying hair said.

Kirei Kotomine looked up from the tome he was studying to see his father, Risei Kotomine, standing over him.

"Yes, father, I will complete the ritual immediately," Kirei said, closing the book on his desk and standing up.

"Do you have everything you need for the summoning?" Risei asked his son.

Kirei nervously scratched the back of his right hand, where his command seals were located, and replied, "Yes, I have the supplies needed to complete the ritual. I have memorized the circle and the chant."

Risei nodded his head in approval and said, "Good, use the shrine in the basement to perform the summoning."

Risei walked out of the room as Kirei gathered up the items he was to use in the ritual: A piece of chalk, and the fragments of a white, skull-shaped mask.

Kirei walked through the church to the basement, repeating the chant for the ritual under his breath.

He was nervous, despite having had three years to prepare for this moment, and rightly so. He was about to enter into a war between the spirits of long dead heroes. His years in the church had prepared him for many things, hunting down heretics and purifying dark creatures to name a few, but it hadn't prepared him for something of this magnitude.

Kirei stopped and blinked in surprise, not having realized he had already made it to the basement shrine while immersed in his thoughts.

The former priest just shook his head and began to prepare the shrine for the ritual, drawing the summoning circle with practiced care, taking his time to make sure it utterly perfect.

Standing up, Kirei examined his handiwork with a sharp eye, going over the design several times before he was satisfied with the look of it.

The amateur magus cleared his throat and began to chant.

"_Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg._

_The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate. _

_Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)._

_Repeat every five times._

_Simply, shatter once filled._

―――― _I announce._

_Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword._

_In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer._

_Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead._

_You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance __―――__!"_

A tempest of bright, golden light thrashed throughout the room, buffeting against Kirei, nearly throwing him off his feet. He held his arm in front of his face, trying to peer through the wall of elements. As the tempest died down, Kirei saw something that surprised him.

To accommodate his master's plans, he was to summon the Assassin class Servant, one of the Hassan-i-Sabbah. He had completed the ritual as instructed and to the letter, and with a catalyst no less! So, what had gone wrong? The man standing in front of him was definitely not the 'Old Man of the Mountain'.

The man was wearing a white, hooded cloak with a red interior and a half-cape covering his left arm held up by a metal pauldron, metal gauntlets, and brown riding boots. Crimson accented the tails of his robes and an eagle sat on his armoured shoulder, gazing curiously at the priest. He had brown hair tied into a ponytail, a scar going down from his bottom lip to his chin, and a jovial gleam in his hazel eyes. A light stubble adorned his jaw and covered his lips - but not enough to hide the confident smile he wore. But despite his carefree appearance, Kirei noted the way he was standing - stiff and anticipating attack from any direction, while at the same time giving off an aura of a battle-hardened warrior.

The man's eyes latched onto Kirei, making him slightly uncomfortable as he saw them glow gold for a brief moment before returning to their light brown shade.

"I am the Servant, Assassin. Now tell me, are you the one who is supposed to be my Master?" The man spoke in a strong Italian accent.

Kirei gulped heavily, intimidated by the supposedly carefree man in front of him for some reason, before declaring in a firm voice, "That is correct. I am Kirei Kotomine, and I am your Master in this war."

Assassin's smile grew wider and threw his arm around Kirei's shoulder, and cried, "Molto bene! Then let us fight together, Kirei, and win this war, and the prize that comes with it."

Kirei shifted uncomfortably under Assassin's too-familiar touch, but refrained from saying anything in fear of insulting his new partner.

"Now then, partner, where can I find some beautiful woman to spend the night with?"

Kirei sighed. This was going to a long, long war.

**XXXXX**

**1 Week Before the Fourth War  
Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel Basement**

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, the ninth head of the Archibal magus family, stood in the basement of the hotel he would be staying in for the duration of the war. He had arrived in Japan a few week prior and immediately checked into the most lavish hotel in the city. He had realized, too late, that it was foolish to have checked into the hotel with his real name and credit cards, but since he had already completed the Bounded Fields and traps around the 32nd and higher floors of the hotel, he figured it wouldn't matter anyway.

The ninth generation magus was directing his Mystic Code, Volumen Hydragyrum, around the floor to create his summoning circle.

"Hurry up, Kayneth. Someone could come down at any moment," Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, Kayneth's fiancée, said nervously, glancing at the door upstairs every few seconds.

"Stop worrying, Sola. The door is magically locked and I've placed a Bounded Field around it to keep the staff from wandering in," the magus professor explained confidently, not looking away from his Mystic Code.

Sola, however, wasn't convinced. She kept stealing glances at the door, before irritably saying, "That won't help if an enemy Master shows up. A simple Bounded Field and a locked door won't stop them, and they won't care if the war has or hasn't started as long as they get rid of the competition!"

Kayneth decided to tear his gaze away from his circle to spare a look at his wife-to-be. Seeing the anxious look on her face, he decided it wouldn't hurt to speed up the summoning process a bit, channeling more Prana into his Mystic Code, making it speed up its elaborate formation.

Kayneth continued to watch Sola, mentally directing Volumen as he did. He knew she held no love for him, how she thought him a coward. That didn't stop him from loving her, though. He wished he could get her to return his feelings, but he knew such a thing was nigh-impossible. She hated how she was being pressured into this marriage by her family because of her brother's failure, and she hated how he reminded her of what she had to do.

"The circle is ready," the magic instructor said suddenly, surprising even himself.

Sola's reply was immediate, "Then hurry up and finish the summoning."

Kayneth just sighed in response, and placed red and yellow metal shards in the center of the circle.

With that done, he began to chant.

"_Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg._

_The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate._

_Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)._

_Repeat every five times._

_Simply, shatter once filled._

――――_I announce. _

_Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword. _

_In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer._

_Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead._

_You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――__!__"_

A cyclone of crimson colored magic erupted from the edge of the ritual circle, sending several random items stored in the room flying, and forcing Kayneth to use the small amount of backup Volumen he had to anchor himself and Sola to the floor to keep from being flung across the room.

As the wall of magical wind died down, and the figure within the summoning circle was revealed, Kayneth's eye twitched viciously

"You are not Diarmuid Ua Duibhne," The blond man said primly.

"Of course not. You're pretty lucky, though, to have summoned the most beautiful demon in the Netherworld as the Lancer class Servant," a young-looking girl spoke.

Said girl was wearing a leather outfit that could scarcely be called 'clothing'. A black leather top that barely covered her underdeveloped chest, a black leather skirt that didn't even go down to mid-thigh, black leather gloves that went halfway up her biceps, light grey leather boots that came to just below her shins, and black socks that stopped just below the middle of her thighs. She also had a black leather choker that had a metal ring hanging off of it, red hair pulled into spiky pigtails, large metallic bracelets, red slitted eyes, small red wings, and a long red tail with an arrow shaped tip.

"Beautiful? You're flat as a washboard," Kayneth deadpanned.

That was apparently the wrong thing to say, as her tail shot up and her eyes turned completely blood red, her aura threatening to crush the Association Magus.

"**WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"** The Servant identified as Lancer shouted, causing the foundation to quiver.

Kayneth, who was sweating and struggling to stay conscious, managed to choke out, "I s-said that you're the m-most beautiful woman I've ever s-seen."

Lancer's aura died down and her eyes faded to their normal color, a smirk playing at her lips.

"That's what I thought you said, M-as-t-er," Lancer sing-songed teasingly.

Sola shook her head at her fiancée's ignorance at how to treat a woman. He should know to never insult a woman's breast size, especially when that woman can shove a spear through his heart before he could even begin to try to stop her.

Lancer turned to leave, stopping after a few steps to look back over her shoulder.

"You coming or what?" She said impatiently.

Kayneth gulped, thinking, _'How the hell am I going to survive this war when I have to fear my own Servant?'_

The blond man directed his Mystic Code back into its containing vial before following after the demonic Servant, Sola on his tail.

**XXXXX**

**1 Day Before the Fourth War  
Matou Mansion**

"Kariya, I have prepared a couple of 'presents' for your graduation," Zouken informed his 'son', a creepy grin on his face as he stood before the pre-prepared summoning circle.

The ancient man made sure he had his representative's attention before continuing, "The first is a fragment of the Round Table from Arthurian legend."

At this he gestured towards the small table fragment off a bit to the side.

"The second is a way to make up for the substandard strength your Servant will undoubtedly possess from having a weak magus like you as its Master."

Zouken held out a scrap of paper to the worm-infested man in front of him.

Kariya snatched it out of his 'father's' hands and looked at it before rudely asking, "And what the hell is this going to do?"

Zouken grinned once again, explaining, "That, Kariya, will imbue your Servant with the ability of Mad Enhancement. It will strengthen the Servant at the cost of their sanity, summoning them under the Berserker class."

Kariya continued to look at the paper, his lips moving as he silently recited the words on it.

He had to get this right, he had to! If he didn't, Sakura would be forced to become the Matou heir, she would be forced to go through that disgusting and depraved training regimen. He wouldn't allow it, he wouldn't!

He clenched his fist and began to speak.

"_Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg._

_The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate._

_Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)._

_Repeat every five times._

_Simply, shatter once filled._

――――_I announce. _

_Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword. _

_In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer._

_Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead._

_You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――__!_

_Yet, thou serves with thine eyes clouded in chaos. _

_Thou, bound in the cage of madness. I am he who command those chains."_

A small breeze started to blow in the basement room.

Zouken smiled darkly as he said, "Is that it? You really are a failure, you stupid boy! You couldn't even summon your Servant! I suppose Sakura-chan's training will have to –"

The human worm was interrupted midsentence when a black typhoon exploded from the summoning circle, sending the fragment of the Round Table flying back into a wall where it shattered into several splinters. Zouken was forced to use his worms to hold himself in place. Kariya, strangely, was not affected by the hammering wind.

After what seemed to be a few minutes, the wind started to die down, stopping completely after a few more minutes.

"Well, Kariya, it seems you're not a complete failure after all, even, if you didn't summon the intended Servant," the decrepit man known as Zouken Matou said, grinning a grin that gave off a feeling that made you want to retch just from looking at it.

The crippled man just scowled and looked up at his Servant.

His Servant was a large man, towering over both Zouken and him. The man was wearing round glasses, grey pants, a black shirt, and a large grey cassock. He also wore a silver cross and a clerical collar, denoting him as a priest. On his left hand was a white glove that had _"Speak with Dead"_ written on it, and on his right hand was another white glove with the words _"Jesus Christ is in Heaven"_ on it. His eyes were a deep blue, and he had short, spiky blond hair, a squared jaw covered with stubble, and a wedge-shaped scar on his left cheek. Despite his normalish appearance, the man gave off a vibe that guaranteed certain death if you messed with him. This vibe was only enhanced by the frown etched on his face.

"So, which one of you is my Master?" The man asked in a thick Scottish accent.

"I am," Kariya said, stumbling a bit as he took a step forward.

The man grinned, showing off his sharp canines, and said, "Th' contract is now complete. I am th' Servant Berserker. And ye are?"

"Kariya Matou. Let's go, Berserker. I would rather not stay here longer than necessary." Kariya said as he struggled towards the stairs.

Halfway to the first step, Kariya stumbled and began to topple forward. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact of the cement floor on his face. After a few seconds of nothing happening, Kariya opened his eyes and saw that he had stopped just inches from the floor. He turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw Berserker holding him around his midsection, a concerned look on his face.

"Are ye alright, Master," Berserker asked, a touch of worry etched on his features.

Kariya struggled to pull himself up, using Berserker as leverage.

"I'm fine. Let's just go," Kariya said, forcing himself to walk.

"As ye command, Master," Berserker said, slinging Kariya's left arm around his shoulder and assisting him up the stairs.

As the Matou magus and his Servant exited the basement, Zouken smirked and muttered to himself, "I never expected you to win this war, Kariya. But with that Servant, you may actually have a chance. But you're still a fool to actually think I would give up little Sakura-chan, even if you do win."

Unknown to the ancient man, Berserker's sharp hearing had caught every word.

The mad Servant narrowed his eyes and looked to his Master, who gave no indication that he had heard anything. Berserker opened his mouth to say something, closing it as he sensed the dark creatures watching and listening to them as they made their way through the mansion.

As they approached the door, a young violet-haired girl stepped in front of them.

Berserker smiled warmly at the child, memories of his time running his orphanage in Scotland rising to the forefront of his mind. But in his mind, he was swearing death to the dark creature that dared impersonate a human for daring to corrupt this child.

"Sakura-chan?" Kariya muttered confusedly, still weak from the summoning.

"What can I do for ye, wee lassie?" He asked the girl, revealed to be Sakura, still smiling warmly.

Sakura blushed under the scrutiny of the large man and mustered up her courage, saying, "A-ano, are you going to help Uncle Kariya with the important thing he has to do?"

Berserker continued to smile down at her as he replied, "Aye, lassie, I am."

Sakura looked up to him with what was probably supposed to be a stern look on her face, though it just made her look cuter, shouting "Then promise me that you won't let anything bad happen to him!"

Berserker reached out with his unoccupied hand, and patted Sakura on the head, attempting to reassure her as he swore, "I swear to ye lassie, that I will protect him, nae matter what."

Sakura's face lit up in a bright smile and she bowed lowly to Berserker before running off.

'_Don't worry, child. I will help him, and you, escape this travesty,'_ Berserker thought as he led his Master out of the mansion and into the foreigner's district of Miyama.

**XXXXX**

**Around the Same Time  
Mackenzie Farm**

Waver Velvet was squeezing the blood from the third rooster he had stolen earlier that week to make his summoning circle. The circle was crude and its proportions were off slightly. Waver had noticed this, and hoped the blood would empower the circle enough to make up for it.

Waver cringed slightly as some of the blood leaked onto his hands. But he needed to do this. He couldn't go back to the Clock Tower, not after he had stolen his instructor's summoning catalyst to participate in the Holy Grail War. He needed to prove that he was strong enough to do this.

The young magus finished wringing the blood from his last rooster and tossed in the pile with the other two he had drained of blood.

Waver glanced over his shoulder to make sure his catalyst was still in place, which it was, and wiped his bloody hands off on the grass.

With his preparations complete, he began the ritual.

"_Silver and iron to the origin. Gem and the archduke of contracts to the cornerstone. The ancestor is my great master Schweinorg._

_The alighted wind becomes a wall. The gates in the four directions close, coming from the crown, the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate._

_Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill). Shut (fill)._

_Repeat every five times._

_Simply, shatter once filled._

――――_I announce. _

_Your self is under me, my fate(doom) is in your sword. _

_In accordance with the resort of the Holy Grail, if you abide by this feeling, this reason, then answer._

_Here is my oath. I am the one who becomes all the good of the world of the dead, I am the one who lays out all the evil of the world of the dead._

_You, seven heavens clad in three words of power, arrive from the ring of deterrence, O keeper of the balance ―――__!"_

A tornado of twilit energy began to swirl around the circle, starting small and slow and growing larger and faster every second until it was a storm of light and wind that was twice as tall as the tallest trees and immensely bright. It made Waver glad he had placed that Bounded Field around the area.

As the gale died, Waver, who had been knocked onto the ground, was staring up in fear at the man he had summoned to be his Servant. He was sure that this man was NOT his intended Servant, Alexander the Great.

The man in front of him had tanned skin, amber-orange eyes, and layered, messy silver hair that spiked at the top and fell to mid-back. He wore a white cloak covered in intricate black designs over black boots, gloves, pants, and shirt.

The Servant scrutinized Waver deeply, smirking arrogantly all the while. A minute passed, then a second, then a third, fourth, and fifth minute passed before the tanned man finally spoke, "Such a weak child is my Master? This is such a disgrace. But I suppose I don't have much of a choice if I want my wish to be realized. Very well, I am Rider, and I shall be the one to lead you to victory in this war."

Waver pushed himself off the ground and brushed the dirt off his clothes, keeping an eye on his Servant all the while. He straightened himself up, and with all the bravery he could muster, stated in as strong a voice as he could, "Yes, I am your Master, and you WILL obey me!"

Rider just kept smirking as he replied, "If you wish me to obey, then prove yourself worthy of being my Master. Until then, you would do best to keep from angering me, boy."

Waver just nodded in reply, not trusting himself to be able to speak.

'_How can I possibly win the war when I can't even control my own Servant,'_ Waver thought to himself as he shivered in fear.

"Now then, where can I find a library?" Rider asked suddenly.

Waver was extremely confused and was only able to manage a, "What?"

Rider scowled at the young magus, his displeasure making itself known in a dark pressure pushing down on the area.

"I need to locate a library. I will require sufficient knowledge in order to suitably combat enemy Servants and to properly conduct myself in this society. A library will contain that knowledge. Now, answer my question. Where…can I find…a library?" Rider explained, ending with a tone that promised excruciating pain if he was not answered swiftly.

Waver gulped and started pointing off in a seemingly random direction.

"There's a library across the bridge, a bit off from the harbour. We can make it in half an hour from here."

"Then let us leave immediately, child," Rider said, smiling cruelly.

Waver gulped again, quickly turning on his heel and swiftly walking off, "F-follow me."

Rider just smirked as he disappeared to follow his Master in spirit form.

**XXXXX**

**The Day of the Fourth War  
A Random Residential Home**

A redheaded man was drawing a circle on the floor of the living room with his toe, occasionally dipping it in a bucket. As he did he was saying, "Fill, fill, fill 'er up, fill. Repeat…four times? Wait, was it four or five? Destroy each when it's filled. Was that how it goes? Um…fill, fill, fill, fill, and fill. Right, it's five!"

In the background, a news report was being played on the television.

"_In other news, there has been a string of murders recently. The murders have all been families whom were murdered in their own homes. Police have commented that there has been a strange symbol drawn on the floor the residences of the victims. Its purpose remains unclear at the moment. A renowned professor on Criminal Psychology has appeared to speak—"_

"Did I go too far?" The man asked himself, leaning over the couch, knocking over a corpse in the process. The redhead picked up the remote and hit the power button, shutting off the TV set.

He looked over at a bound and gagged young boy.

"Hey kid, you think demons exist?" He asked with a creepy look on his face.

The child looked over at him as he approached.

"The media calls me a demon, but if demons do exist, isn't that kind of rude? You've gotta know for sure."

The man stopped right in front of the boy, before suddenly bending down, and yelling, "Yo! The name's Ryuunosuke Uryuu, and I'm a demon!"

The boy started yelling through his gag, thrashing around wildly. The now identified Ryuunosuke disregarded the boy's struggling and continued.

"I'm not sure that's the right way to go about it, though."

The boy started to cry, but Ryuunosuke just ignored it and waved a yellowing book in front of his face.

"But then I found this old book in the storehouse. It turns out my ancestors were trying to summon demons or something. And I got pretty excited! So, I just gotta find out if demons are really real!"

Ryuunosuke stood up and walked over to a nearby chair, sitting in it backwards.

"But it'd be pretty stupid to summon a demon and not give it anything in return. So, kid, if a demon really does show up…"

Ryuunosuke held a hand in front of his face in a pseudo-begging pose, and a disturbing smile stretched across his face.

"Mind if I feed you to it?"

The boys eyes widened, and he started screaming into his gag, and lashing out against his bindings.

Ryuunosuke stopped smiling and buried his head into the crook of his arm, sighing in disappointment. A moment later, he started laughing madly and rocking wildly in his chair.

"I wonder what it's like to be killed by a demon! It'd be so cool to find out! GAH! What the hell?"

Ryuunosuke looked at his right hand, just in time to see a strange red sygil etch itself into it. As he gazed at his hand, a light began to shine behind him. He stood up from his chair and watched the circle start to emit a glowing mist that shrouded the circle.

As the mist began to recede, a man was shown to be standing in the centre of the circle.

The man was wearing a white, frilled shirt, elegant, black pants, and black boots. Over this, he wore a long, dark blue, gentleman's coat with a large pocket watch attached to his left hip, and a white cravat. On his head he wore a matching top hat with a feather sticking out of it. He had medium length, dark blue bordering on black hair and brown eyes. This man also exuded an aura of elegance and nobility that made Ryuunosuke feel like bowing in respect.

The man gave a gentle smile and gave a polite bow saying, "You who have summoned me, I thank you. I am Caster. Might I have the privilege of knowing your name?"

Ryuunosuke hesitated, fearing that he might offend the nobleman in front of him. He gathered his courage and replied, "Ah…I'm Ryuunosuke Uryuu. I'm currently unemployed, and my hobbies are stabbing and murder. I especially like killing children and women."

The man who called himself Caster began to frown deeply. Ryuunosuke saw this and hurriedly said, "Hey, you want a sacrifice? I got a kid you can eat right here."

Caster's frown deepened even more. He looked to the child who was staring at him with eyes wide with fear. He smiled at the child and said, "Don't worry, young one. I shall handle this. Just close your eyes, and don't open them until I tell you."

The boy nodded frantically and clamped his eyes shut. Ryuunosuke was confused as to why this supposed 'demon' was doing this and asked, "What the hell are you doing? Don't you wanna eat him?"

Caster turned back to the murderer, immense anger showing on his features. He made his displeasure known as he calmly, yet with untold amounts of disgust and anger, said, "Be silent, you depraved cur! To do such a thing to a fellow human being, and in front of a child no less! Begone from this world, beast!"

With that, Caster thrust an oversized conductor's baton through Ryuunosuke's chest and into his heart, killing him instantly. Caster removed the baton from the madman's chest, letting the corpse fall to the floor, a confused look fixed on its face.

Caster sighed as he offered a brief prayer for the lives lost in this house today, letting his baton disappear into light as he turned back to the boy.

He knelt down next to the child as he removed the tape binding the boy's arms and legs, and untied the cloth in his mouth.

"Keep your eyes closed," Caster whispered to the boy, who was crying in joy.

Caster gently picked the boy up. The child immediately buried his face in Caster's shirt, but he didn't mind. He simply smiled sadly at the boy as he exited the house, the child sobbing into his shirt.

**XXXXX**

**Around the Same Time  
Fuyuki Church**

"Hm, that's strange," Risei said suddenly.

"What is it, father?" Kirei asked.

Risei looked over at his son and answered, "The Servant Caster was summoned, but just a few minutes afterwards, his Master was killed."

Kirei adopted a serious look, and asked, "Could it have been another Master?"

Risei shook his head, "I'm not sure. It's possible, but unlikely."

Kirei stood up from his seat, and said, "If the war has begun, then I best leave. If Assassin is killed and I require shelter, I will return."

"Very well, Kirei. Be careful, this war is quite brutal."

Kirei stopped with his hand on the handle of the front door of the church. He held for a moment before replying, "I can be just as brutal myself."

With that, he left the church.

Risei sighed and leaned back in the pew, rubbing his temples.

"I know, son. And that's why I'm worried."

**XXXXX**

**Translation:**

**Molto Bene: Very Good**

**How was it? Be brutally honest...in review form.**


	2. The Wheel of Fate is Turning

**Alright, Chapter 2. Here it is.**

**Beta'd by Augustino Alighieri and 741AuthorNCS-NicolaStarlaLili. Damn, that's a long name.**

**I originally intended for this chapter to be the assault on the Tohsaka mansion and the battle at the harbor, but I think it came out better this way.**

**Disclaimer: Roses are red,  
Violets are blue.  
I own nothing,  
So you can't sue.**

**XXXXX**

**The Night of the Start of the Fourth War  
A Street Overlooking Fuyuki**

Kirei Kotomine stood behind the street barrier, looking out over the bright city of Fuyuki, admiring its nightly beauty.

"Assassin," Kirei spoke, the word echoing in the silent air.

A figure dressed in white appeared next to him, their arm slung around his shoulders, and a playful grin stretching across his face.

"You called, partner?"

Kirei nodded, not moving from his spot.

"Yes. My father has informed me that Caster has been summoned. The war has begun in earnest. You are to approach the Tohsaka Manor, and kill Tokiomi Tohsaka."

Assassin removed his arm from Kirei's shoulder and gave him a knowing wink.

"Yeah, 'kill Tokiomi'. I got it," Assassin assured slyly, giving a light chuckle in the process.

The Servant hopped over the barrier between the road and the edge of the cliff, crouching down to maintain his balance, as he gazed at the mansion nestled against the bottom of the precipice. His eyes began to glow gold as he stared at the grounds of the lavish home, picking out every tiny detail in the area, including the figure standing on top of the roof and the smaller magic-infused animals around the area, as well as a strange rainbow colored ball of light that didn't look quite right that he disregarded as a trick of the magic in the air.

"Heh, alright then, let's do this!" Assassin cried as his eyes snapped back to their original color and he dove off the cliff, keeping his body parallel to the ground.

He broke through the treetops, snapping off branches as he fell to the forest floor. The spirit threw his arms out and grabbed a large branch, swinging around it to decrease his momentum. He released the branch and landed on top of another nearby branch, running along the wooden protrusions to the edge of the woods.

As Assassin reached the end of the wooded area, he leapt off the final branch with great force, flying above the property, tossing several throwing knives with great accuracy at the red jewels embedded in the pedestals spread throughout the garden, shattering them immediately.

The expert killer landed in a flowerbed, rolling to reduce the impact. He peeked out of the flowers, throwing a clod of dirt towards the last pedestal. As he had expected, the dirt clod blew apart upon contact with an invisible barrier.

The hooded man smirked, emerging from the flower bushes, calmly walking towards the barrier.

"Too easy," Assassin commented, brushing the stray leaves and flower petals off his robes, his eyes bleeding to gold again.

Instantly, the area surrounding the pedestal was shown being flooded with transparent spheres, rods, cones, and other geometric shapes floating randomly around it, making it almost impossible to navigate.

Assassin walked right through the first barrier, nimbly dodging the floating shapes, ducking, jumping, rolling, twisting in extremely disturbing ways, and performing elaborate acrobatics in order to keep from coming in contact with the silhouettes.

"Ha, this is supposed to be difficult? It was harder to break into the Cappella Sistina, but I did that, too! This is a cake walk compared to that," Assassin pondered aloud, continually evading the barriers.

With a couple more twists, spins, and a pirouette, Assassin landed beside the pedestal and spun a knife into his hand.

With a cry of triumph, he plunged the knife down into the crimson jewel, destroying it. Not a second later, a javelin pierced through his hand and the pedestal it was hovering over, shattering his knife in the process.

"Cazzo! That hurts like hell!" Assassin screamed, clutching his profusely bleeding appendage, eyeing the spear protruding from his limb critically, it's noble and powerful aura revealing its origin.

"The hell? A Noble Phantasm?"

A cruel laugh sounded from the roof of the manor, echoing throughout the garden.

"Then perhaps you shouldn't have decided to trespass, mongrel!" A figure clad in golden armor called down from his perch.

Assassin craned his neck to catch a glimpse of the man, snapping the fingers of his uninjured hand in realization.

"Oh, that's right. You were keeping a lookout up there. I was having so much fun, I completely forgot you were hiding there," Assassin said, smacking his forehead with his free hand.

The man in the golden armor was enraged at this statement, and he made his anger known by summoning a large wall of golden light behind him, which several weapons of different type and design poked out of, creating ripples in the light as if it were liquid.

"HOW DARE YOU!? YOU DARE DISREGARD THE KING!? THE FIRST KING!? THE STRONGEST OF ALL HEROIC SPIRITS!? STAND STILL SO I CAN SKEWER YOU!" The enraged man screamed in pure and incomparable rage.

"It's not like I can go anywhere, idiota," Assassin deadpanned, gesturing towards his pinned hand, uncaring to the enraged king's increasingly growing animosity.

"TO INSULT ME, GILGAMESH, THE KING OF ALL HEROES, IS A CRIME BEYOND ALL OTHERS! SO JUST DIE ALREADY!" The identified Gilgamesh yelled, his face looking fairly demonic as he twisted it into a fierce snarl. The light behind him grew in size as more and more weapons emerged from it.

Assassin started to sweat at the sight of the wall of weapons waiting to fire at the command of their wielder. His sweating increased tenfold when the Grail imparted its knowledge of the King of Uruk to him, revealing just what kind of hornet's nest he had just kicked. He was an Assassin after all, attacking from the shadows to preserve order. He could never match a knight class Servant like Gilgamesh in straight combat.

"Now, begone maggot!"

With a single gesture from the golden king, the armada of weapons shot forth at unimaginable speeds. A rain of steel that no mortal could survive.

Assassin looked at the rain of armaments and said only one word.

"Scopami."

And with that, he was shredded to pieces by the weapons. Gallons of blood, chunks of flesh, and hunks of bone covered the yard, slowly turning into specks of light and disappearing.

Gilgamesh panted at the sudden loss of his rage, raising his hand and swiping through his mussed hair, straightening it out.

Then he began to laugh insanely; it could be considered out of character for anyone who knew the ancient king.

"Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! How do you like that, you damn maggot! You have received your punishment for daring to insult the king! Hahahahahahahahahaha!"

Farther away, in the woods, Assassin was tossing a golden orb into the air with his left hand, and holding an apple in his right.

He grinned at the sight and sound of Gilgamesh's mental breakdown, taking a bite of the apple in his hand as he watched in amusement.

"If I had decided to go around the house and scale up the front, you'd be dead right now. But, if it helps you sleep at night, sure, you killed me, you insane son of a bitch," Assassin muttered under his breath, slowly eating more and more of the apple as the mad king went off on a tangent on how the 'common mongrels' should worship 'perfect kings' like himself.

Gilgamesh eventually calmed down, wiping away the sweat that had accumulated on his forehead during his rant. Taking a moment to glance around, he disappeared in a haze of golden light.

At that moment, Assassin swallowed the last bit of apple and tossed the core into the brush, stowing the gold orb in a pouch under his cape.

He wiped the leftover juice off his mouth, activating his Mystic Eyes for a moment to look around.

Seeing no one around, he began to astralize.

As he faded away, he said, "If everyone in this war is as insane as that nutjob, I'd probably have been better off staying in the Throne."

**XXXXX**

**Later that Night  
Fuyuki Church**

In front of the church, Kirei Kotomine knocked on the large, wooden doors, and waited for his father to answer.

Footsteps were heard from inside the church, slowly leading to the door. The door opened, light pouring out into the walkway.

Risei stepped outside and inquired, "What do you require from this humble man of god, Master of Assassin?"

Kirei straightened up, and began, "My Servant has been killed and I have lost my right to be a Master. In accordance with the rules of the Holy Grail War, I request that you, as the moderator of the war and representative of the Holy Church, protect me for the duration of this war."

Risei examined him for a moment, his eyes roaming his body and landing on his hand. Seeing the Command Seals still present, he grinned. The aged priest stepped to the side and gestured inside, answering, "As mediator, I accept your request for protection as stated in the rules of the war and hereby guarantee your safety. Please, come in."

Kirei nodded and walked past his father into the nave, idly noticing there was someone else sitting in the pews, but disregarding them as unimportant.

Risei approached Kirei, who was standing in front of the pulpit at the front of the church.

"Is there anyone watching the church?" Kirei asked his father.

Risei shook his head, and replied, "No, the church and its properties are considered neutral ground. Any attempts to spy or otherwise desecrate this decree shall be harshly rebuked to the fullest extent of the church."

"Then it's safe to discuss our plans."

"Hey, partner. I think I should post a lookout just in case," The man sitting in the pews piped up, surprising Kirei and Risei.

"Oh, Assassin, I didn't realize it was you sitting there," Kirei said, blinking as though to clear his eyes of something.

Risei was lightly pounding his chest, and leaning against the pulpit. He looked over at the white-clad Servant and scolded, "Assassin, I am 80 years old. Please refrain from surprising me like that, unless you're trying to give me a heart attack."

Assassin bowed his head in apology, "My apologies, signore. It was not my intention to scare you. It is simply the result of the extent of my Presence Concealment skill."

Risei straightened up, running his hand through his hair.

"I understand, just try to keep from scaring me to death."

Assassin held up his hands in a placating manner, saying, "Si, si, I will try, signore."

Kirei just watched the exchange between his carefree Servant and his aging father with no emotion whatsoever.

"Assassin," Kirei said.

The cloaked man turned towards his Master.

"Yeah, partner?"

"You said something about 'posting' a guard? How is that possible?"

Assassin grinned and said, "Ah, I'm glad you asked. Observe."

The enigma stuck his fingers in his mouth and let loose a piercing whistle that sounded vaguely like a hawk's screech. Several figures appeared throughout the church, clad in the same white robes as Assassin, though not as elaborately designed as his were.

"You called for us, Mentor?" One of the male figures asked.

Assassin looked over to his Master and his father, and spoke, "These are the recruits of the Assassin Brotherhood. They will be keeping an eye on the targets."

Assassin turned back to the recruits, his demeanor became serious, as he folded his hands behind his back as the like-clothed people lined up in front of him.

He looked over the look-a-likes, scrutinizing them carefully. To their credit, they kept perfectly calm, even under the eagle sharp gaze of their mentor.

Assassin's gaze stopped over one of the female recruits, he observed her carefully, before finally saying, "Maria, keep guard here at the church. Keep out of sight, and observe anyone and everyone who enters this church."

The female, named as Maria, nodded and faded into the shadows, giving no sign she had been there in the first place.

Assassin continued to look over the remaining assassins, singling them out and assigning them to watch over a certain person or area of interest, until they had all disappeared.

The robed man looked to his Master and, seeing the look of slight shock on his face, grinned.

Spreading his arms in emphasis, he said, "This is the power of the first of my Noble Phantasms, known as 'The Brotherhood'! It is the manifestation of my position as Mentor of the Assassin Order. With it, I have the ability to call forth the assassins who were of my branch of the Order. I trained them all, and I know where their skills lie. They will be able to do their jobs just as well as I would in their place. The Masters and their hideouts will be observed indefinitely. Nothing they do will escape the gaze of my recruits."

Kirei shook off his shock, nodding at his Servant's enthusiastic explanation. A thought popped into the former Executor's head.

"Did you manage to catch how many Masters were watching our 'performance'?"

Assassin grinned, his eyes flashing gold for a brief instant.

"There were four familiars watching the fight. Assuming that none of them belonged to you, Tokiomi, an outside magus, or that two belonged to a single Master, that means there was one Master not watching the fight.

Risei cleared his throat to gain the attention of the pair. They looked at him, waiting to hear what he had to say.

"Caster was summoned earlier today. But something unusual happened a few minutes after the summoning."

Assassin adopted his serious persona again, the grin slipping from his face as he gained an edge to his eyes. He spoke, "And what was this unusual happening, Father."

The aged priest sighed, running his hand through his grey hair. He contemplated his words before deciding to just say it.

"Caster's Master died a few minutes after the summoning. From the reports that flooded into the Police Station earlier, the seventh Master was the serial killer that's been circulating around the city, Ryuunosuke Uryuu. More reports state that he was killed this afternoon. And even more reports state that a strangely dressed nobleman dropped off a child whose parents were murdered by Ryuunosuke. I believe this man is the seventh Servant, and that he killed his Master."

Kirei's eyes widened in shock, while Assassin's eyes narrowed in contemplation.

"Why would a Servant kill its own Master? It's incomprehensible!"

Assassin spoke up, "Most likely the Master's personality and/or interests was in extreme conflict with the Servant's. If this Ryuunosuke was as unscrupulous as I believe, a Heroic Spirit would not tolerate him, especially if he murdered a child's family in front of said child."

"That would make sense. But why would a Servant kill their source of Prana when they know that doing so would cost them their existence?" Risei asked the master assassin.

Assassin thought for a moment before replying, "They wouldn't. Not unless they had a secondary source of magic or a powerful Noble Phantasm that could keep them manifested without a source of Prana. And since the Father has confirmed he is still manifested, one of those must be true."

He turned to his Master, who was still confused by everything happening around him, and spoke seriously, "Partner, I think we should locate this renegade Servant and form an alliance with him."

Kirei was shocked into silence at his Servant's proclamation. After a few seconds, he regained control of his mental facilities and started sputtering wildly.

"W-What are you talking about!? Why would we go and seek out an enemy Servant?"

Assassin chortled slightly, his serious persona slipping away faster than one could blink, and replied, "Because, if this Servant killed his Master for being a cold-blooded murderer, then he won't want one of the more crooked Masters getting their hands on the Grail. He might not want to give it up himself, but that's a bridge we'll burn when we cross it."

"Don't you mean 'we'll cross that bridge when we come to it'," Kirei asked, even more confused than he was a few seconds previous.

Assassin just smirked and said, "Nope, I meant burn. It's more fun to burn bridges than to just cross them."

Kirei sighed again, wondering whether or not fighting in this war was worth the aggravation his Servant put him through.

He relented to his Servant's incessant prodding, saying, "Very well, I will contact Tokiomi and ask him his opinion on the matter."

Assassin grinned at him, flopping down on the front pew of a church, pulling another apple out of his robe and biting into it. He wiped the juice of chin, held the apple above his head and cried, "Holy Grail, here we come!"

The corners of Kirei's lips twitched upwards slightly, betraying his slight amusement at the scene. If nothing else, Assassin was good for laugh or two.

**XXXXX**

**The Same Night  
Streets of Fuyuki**

A nobly dressed man strolled peacefully down the road, the crowds of workers heading home for the night parting in his wake. In one hand was an oversized conductor's baton he was using like a cane, and in the other he held a softly glowing orb that seemed to be making a soft noise. The nobleman smiling gently and replying to the orb at varying intervals.

"I see…Is that so?...Ah, that is quite interesting…That is quite the story. Perhaps I should look further into this. Thank you very much for your assistance. Feel free to return home now, denizen of the forest."

The orb-like creature glowed brighter for a moment before fading away into the air.

Caster lowered his hand to his side, continuing on his walk, thinking, _'Perhaps I should make an alliance with another team. That skill of mine may be able to sustain my existence, but I am still only a Caster class Servant. I will not be able to beat one of the knight classes on my own. But is there a point in fighting in this war? If I die, I will return home. But if one with a dark heart were to obtain the Grail, the world will suffer like Forte did under Waltz. Should I leave the world to fight its own battles? Or should I fight to see that these people may live their peaceful lives? What to do, what to do?'_

Caster's focus had returned to the world around him, and the first thing he noticed was that the streets had emptied drastically during his mental debate, leaving only him and a few laggers and late night workers littering the streets.

Caster smiled at the sight of a mother carrying her sleeping child home after playing in the nearby park. His thoughts turned to his former Master, and the child he had dropped off at the police station. At least that monster disguised as a man The noble's expression soured a moment later, the thought of a corrupt Master obtaining the Grail and disrupting this peaceful city more than it already was pushing its way back to the forefront of his mind.

'_Polka and the others would never forgive me if they found out I abandoned a city of innocent people in their hour of need, and I would not forgive myself if my selfish desires caused these people to come to harm.'_

Caster let a small smile adorn his face, shaking his head lightly, his thoughts finalizing his decision.

'_It seems I will continue fighting in this war. Still, it would be prudent to form an alliance if I plan on fighting. I cannot win this war on my own. Even though my power will keep me in this world, if I use it up faster than I produce it, it won't matter. But who would be the best ally?'_

Caster mused silenty

'_Assassin and Archer are working together already, so they would be good allies, but they may be loath to add another to their alliance, and see it prudent to eliminate me. I don't know anything about the other Servant's or Master's so it might not be a good idea to approach them. Perhaps I should speak with Archer's Master first. If things get out of hand, I'll just astralize and keep hidden for a bit.'_

With his path chosen, Caster made his way to the mansion of Tokiomi Tohsaka and the Archer class Servant, Gilgamesh.

**XXXXX**

_It was dark. So, so dark. Darker than black. Then fragments of what seemed to memories flashed in his mind._

_A young man, standing on a beach, yearning for something more._

_An old man with a gray beard dressed in blue robes and pointed hat, standing on the sidelines as a tanned, silver haired man and a young man with dark hair in a spiky topknot dueled with blades shaped like keys, one dark as night, the other as noble as a samurai._

_A man obsessed with the heart of all worlds, submerging himself in corrupting darkness._

_The man embroiled in malevolence and the samurai of light, arguing over an ancient weapon, the samurai being scarred by darkness in the process._

_A young boy with light brown hair being attacked by creatures made of shadows, being brought to near-death, the now old man of darkness extracting the boy's corruption, forming it into a negative doppelganger._

_The dark one leaving the boy of light with the noble one._

_The obsessed teaching the dark child, twisted creatures created from the boy's negativity spawning into existence._

_The dark one sabotaging a test of inner power._

_His manipulations of a young man with darkness in his heart and the boy of light, sending them out into the various worlds in existence and guiding them in his plan._

_The plotted death of the samurai of light._

_The final confrontation in a wasteland, blades formed from keys abandoned for miles around, a heart-shaped moon shining light on the graveyard of blades._

_The truth being revealed to the wielders of the keyed blades._

_Fighting against the dark-hearted man with the corrupted child at his side._

_The dark child leaving to fight against his pure opposite._

_The man accepting his darkness, easily overpowering the dark one._

_The dark one releasing his essence into the man, overtaking his body, his former vessel dispersing into light, armor falling off the form of the dark one._

_The armor reforming, the lingering will of its owner empowering it to fight against the dark one._

_The dark one being confronted by an aqua-haired woman._

_The combined effort of the aqua woman and the man of light and darkness overpowering the dark one, plunging him into the world of darkness._

_An overwhelming light penetrating his mind even within his unconsciousness._

_Then, darkness again. So, so dark. So overpowering, so overwhelming, so corrupting._

_Voices were heard in the distance, gradually growing closer. A hand on his stomach and back, supporting his weak body._

"_Young man, what ails you?"_

_A voice filled with wisdom, compassion, and power pierced the haze in his mind, allowing him to open his eyes._

_A blond man with bright orange eyes was looking at him with worry in his eyes._

"_Can you speak? Tell me your name."_

_What was his name? He couldn't remember. There was a word at the edge of his mind, floating just out of his reach. He stretched out, reaching for the word. It slipped away from his grasp, as though scared. He reached father, stretching and stretching, until his mind just barely brushed it._

_He spoke._

"_Xeha…nort."_

_Darkness overwhelmed his mind once more, pushing him back into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness._

_**XXXXX**_

**0th Night  
Mackenzie Home**

Waver Velvet shot up in his bed, panting heavily as sweat poured down his forehead in rivers.

'_What was that? It was…so horrifying. It felt like I was drowning in darkness, and I don't even remember half of it,"_ Waver thought, trying to shove the dream out of his mind.

"Is something wrong, Master?" The voice of his Servant penetrated through his thoughts, causing him to snap his neck towards the sound of his voice.

He saw Rider sitting there among the several stacks of books that were stolen from the local library the previous night, dressed tremendously different than he was the other day.

Rider wore a skintight, high-collared black shirt, showing his muscular frame, with crisscrossing red straps stretching across his torso in an X. He also wore light brown hakama pants with what looked like a cross between an obi and a belt tied around his waist with armored boots under it. There was a black wristband around his right wrist, and a black fingerless glove on his left hand, along with armor around his left shoulder and forearm. And, strangely enough, he was also wearing rectangular reading glasses. His condescending smirk was present as well, not that he ever really stopped smirking.

Waver shook his head to clear his thoughts, quickly saying, "No, no, nothing's wrong. Just a nightmare. Just a bad dream."

Rider chuckled, still smirking that damnable smirk of his.

"You truly are a poor Master, to be scared by a bad dream. Oh, woe is me, to be cursed to have such weak boy as my Master"

Waver grit his teeth tightly, grabbing a book off the floor near his bed, flinging it as hard as he could at Rider's head.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The book smashed against the center of the Servant's face, shattering his glasses and snapping his head backwards.

Waver froze, fear permeating throughout his body. Fear at what his Servant would do to him in retaliation for his attack.

The dark man was frozen for a moment, before he started laughing raucously.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It seems you're not such a spineless coward after all, Master. You've gained a small semblance of respect from me, but don't think that gives you right to treat me like a servant. Be careful, Master, or I may just turn on you," Rider finished with an animalistic grin that made Waver feel like he was about to wet himself.

He tossed the covers off himself and dashed out of the room, calling, "Bathroom," behind him.

Rider pulled out a spare pair of glasses, unfolding them and sliding them onto his face.

"Hmhmhm. You truly are an interesting person, Waver Velvet. By the end of this war, you will either be stronger than ever, or broken beyond repair. Either way, it should prove to be quite entertaining."

In the bathroom, Waver was splashing water on his face, examining his face closely. He sighed, and wondered aloud, "Just what happened to you to drive you so far into the darkness, Xehanort."

**XXXXX**

**Tohsaka Mansion**

Caster approached the front door of the mansion, idly sensing the Bounded Fields surrounding the building. Standing in front of the door, Caster dismissed his baton, watching as it faded into light. Looking back to the door, the nobleman rose his hand and knocked four times.

A minute passed, and when Caster was about to turn and leave the grounds, the door slammed open and a sword was held at his throat, ready to pierce through it in a moment.

The King of Heroes was standing in front of him, wearing his trademark golden armor, an arrogant grin on his face as he circled around Caster, keeping the point of his sword at the man's throat.

"Well, well, well. Another mongrel comes to encroach on the territory of the king. Now, entertain me. Why shouldn't I kill you right now?" Gilgamesh asked condescendingly, his irritation at Assassin's earlier behavior still prominent in his attitude.

Caster, despite being confronted by arguably the strongest Servant in the war, remained calm, replying, "Because to kill an unarmed man who has simply come to request an audience with your summoner would leave a permanent stain on your honor as a knight, forever painting you a roguish barbarian who would kill an innocent man for the crimes of another."

Gilgamesh stopped and stared in shock, not expecting the Servant of magic to have responded with such a well-spoken and plausible argument. A few moments passed before the first hero began laughing uproariously, his blade still not leaving the noble's neck.

Half a minute passed before the heroic king calmed down enough to speak.

"Well put, Servant Caster! Well put, indeed. Very well, then. I will allow you an audience with the mongrel that claims the title of my Master. But be warned, should you besmirch the rules of an audience, even slightly, I will put you down like the rabid mongrel you are."

Caster bowed his head, responding with all the dignity of noble air he exuded, "Of course, Your Majesty. I would never think of betraying your generosity."

Gilgamesh puffed up with pride, dismissing his blade and crossing his arms, chortling lightly at the other man's response.

"Good, good. It would be a shame to kill such a worthy subject. Now then, follow me."

Caster followed Gilgamesh through the house, up the stairs, down the hallway, and into the upstairs study.

Standing at the far end of the study, looking out the bay window, was the Second Owner of Fuyuki City, Tokiomi Tohsaka.

"Your Majesty, for what reason did you bring an enemy into my inner sanctum?" Tokiomi asked, not turning from the window.

"Because he is a man who is worthy enough to bask in my glory. I thought it would be entertaining to see what he was here for," Gilgamesh replied haughtily, not showing a shred of repentance.

Tokiomi sighed, hanging his head for a moment before remembering he had company. He turned around to face the Servant duo, plopping himself down on the chair behind his desk with all the grace of the high-class man he was.

Steepling his fingers, Tokiomi observed Caster, who simply stood there in calm reserve.

After a few minutes of the two watching each other, Caster decided to take the initiative.

He took off his hat, holding it to his chest as he bowed deeply, introducing himself, "Salutations, Master of Archer. I am the Servant known as Caster. I have come here to ask for a chance to speak to you about forming an alliance."

With his piece said, the noble straightened up and replaced his hat in its place on his head.

Tokiomi chuckled softly, smirking in amusement at Caster's proclamation.

"I am Tokiomi Tohsaka. Now tell me, Servant, why should I so much as even consider this ridiculous proposal?"

Gilgamesh stepped forward, making his presence reknown, speaking with all the authority of his position as king, "Because I say so, Tokiomi."

Tokiomi chuckled fearfully, gulping nervously at the king's tone, fearing the hero's retribution.

"Er, of course, Your Majesty."

The Tohsaka head managed to hide his nervousness enough to hold a normal conversation, though he constantly peeked over at Gilgamesh, fearing what the golden king might do to him.

The red-suited man cleared his throat and asked, "And for what reason would you, another Servant, wish to align yourself with me, a Master after the Grail?"

Caster's reply was simple, yet unexpected, "To keep the corrupt from gaining it."

Tokiomi blinked once, twice, thrice, before shaking off his shock and continuing, "I would have thought you would have said you wished to gain the Holy Grail for yourself."

"But I don't."

Now that really through Tokiomi for a loop. A Servant who didn't want the Grail! It was unheard of. All Servants had a wish deep inside their hearts. A reason for seeking to obtain the Grail for themselves. It was even more annoying when he heard Gilgamesh speaking in the background.

"Hahahaha, another reason you are a worthy subject. To not seek out my treasure for yourself, when all these mongrels around you do so. Tokiomi, if you do not align yourself with this man, I will punish you greatly."

Tokiomi flinched violently, the thoughts of what the King of Heroes might do to him flashing through his mind at an incredibly fast pace.

"Ha, haha, ha, yes, of course, Your Majesty. But Caster, why join with myself? I am quite curious of this."

Caster smiled grimly, replying, "It has been my experience that when confronted with an item of great power, it usually causes the worst to come out in people. At the very least, your wish is neutral, and will not bring pain or suffering to the innocents in this city."

Gilgamesh chuckled behind him and said, "Quite right, Caster, quite right. A truly worthy subject, indeed, to care about those whom are strangers to you. Hahahahahaha."

Tokiomi stood from his desk, walking around it to stand directly in front of Caster. With his hand extended, he said, "Very well, our alliance is sealed. Shall we shake on it?"

Caster smiled his noble smile, taking Tokiomi's hand in his own, saying, "Of course, Lord Tohsaka. It is my pleasure to be working with you."

"As it is mine, as well."

With their pieces said, the duo released each other's hands, the magus returning to his desk, and the Servant turning towards the door. As he approached it, he turned back towards the two other occupants of the room. He removed his hat, and swept it across his chest as he bowed lowly to the Master and Servant pair.

"Farewell, Lord Tohsaka, Your Majesty, we shall meet again."

And with that, he whirled around and exited the room.

Gilgamesh smiled a tiny, unnoticeable smile.

"A truly worthy subject, indeed."

**XXXXX**

**Translations:**

**Cazzo: Fuck**

**Idiota: Idiot**

**Scopami: Fuck me**

**Signore: Sir**

**Si: Yes**

**Comments, put-ups, put-downs, flames, and virtual candy go in the reviews. Fair warning, put-downs will be ignored, and flames will be used to bring heat to the homeless population.**

**Thank you, and see you next time.**


	3. Dream Cycles with a Side of Bacon

**Alright, I'm back on track with my deadline.**

**Chapter 3 is now here. I actually planned for this to be the beginning of the battle at the harbor, but it ended up being dream cycles. Enjoy.**

**Beta'd by Augustino Alighieri. **

**741AuthorNCS-NicolaStarlaLili decided to stop beta'ing this fic, because it had "too many epic characters" that she couldn't "do justice for during editing". And I'm not mocking her with those quotations, I'm quoting her. Still, I thank her for help.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything that I don't own. Also, to those of you who are offended by the depiction of Catholicism below, suck it up. It's meant to be a fictional depiction to explain things. If you don't like it, there are several buttons you can press, like that large red X in the corner.**

**XXXXX**

_Berserker kneeled there, amongst the old and decrepit buildings, wearing a military uniform splattered with blood and pointing a gun at a shadowy figure garbed in black._

"_Hehehehehe. Foolish soldier. Do you truly think something as weak as that toy would be enough to kill something like __**me**_?"

_Berserker just grinned fearfully, replying, "Not in th' slightest, ye beast. But it's more than enough to kill me!"_

_Berserker spun the gun around in his hand, reversing its direction and shoving it up into his mouth._

"_Ye won't have me, ye damn monster!"_

_And with that, he pulled the trigger, the last sounds to reach his ears before the darkness overcame him being discharge of the gun and the creature's roar of rage._

_**XXXXX**_

_Voices pierced the haze of his mind, and bright lights burned his retinas through his eyelids. With a heavy groan, he forced his eyes open, ignoring the lights trying to get him to close them again._

_A voice sounded out from next to him, urgency tinging its words._

"_He's awake. Quick, go get His Holiness."_

_Several heavy footfalls echoed throughout the room. Berserker tries to turn his head towards them, but found that he was strapped down tightly, barely even able to twitch, much less move._

_He mightily struggled against his bindings, roaring out, "Agh, who are ye? Where am I? And what th' hell do ye want with me?"_

_The people he couldn't quite see but knew were there started whispering to each other, trying to keep their statements secret, but Berserker was strangely able to hear them._

"_What should we do? Should we release him?"_

"_No! He might go on a rampage. We need to keep him here until His Holiness gets here."_

"_But what if he breaks free? That could be even worse."_

"_There's no way he could break free. Those bindings are heavily reinforced and been blessed by the holiest of blessings."_

_Berserker roared in anger, forcing his body to move in their bindings, trying to slip out of them or snap them. But then, a calming and authoritative voice rang out._

"_What are you doing just standing around? Kill those lights, and remove these bindings immediately. This man must be terrified, waking up with lights in his eyes and no one explaining things to him."_

_Berserker heard murmuring among the people in the room, a couple of them coming towards him. He tensed himself, waiting for just the right moment. The lights dimmed and died, allowing him to see the faces of the men and women around him._

_As the people released the bindings one by one, he prepared to make his move. The moment the last one was removed, Berserker sprang into action, flinging himself up and grabbing one of the women in a chokehold, strong enough to keep her docile, but not so much as to kill her._

"_Alright," Berserker shouted, holding the scared woman tightly, "Ye're gonna tell me just what th' hell is going on, or I'm gonna snap this bitch's neck."_

_Everyone froze, not wanting to risk the chance that Berserker would make good on his threat._

"_Peace, my child. If you wish for knowledge, speak, and I shall acquiesce to your desire. But please, do not harm the girl. She is innocent in this."_

_Berserker turned to the voice, jaw dropping in surprise when he recognized the figure it emanated from._

"_Y-your Holiness! Just what is going on here?!"_

_The Pope himself stood in front of the metal door leading to and from the concrete room. The holy man just smiled at him and said, "I will explain everything. But please, release the girl."_

_Berserker eyed the leader of the Catholic faith skeptically, before deciding that the chance to get answers was worth the chance he would be killed and releasing the woman, who dashed away and huddled into the corner of the room, looking at him with fear-filled eyes._

"_Very well, Your Holiness. I have complied with your request, now comply with mine. What is going on here? How am I not dead?"_

_The Pope opened the metal door, revealing a set of rusted metal stairs leading up behind it, and gestured for the man to follow him._

_Berserker hesitated for a moment, reconsidering his decision, before steeling himself and falling in step behind the man of the cloth. Both were silent as they ascended the stairs, coming to another door, this one made of a thick wood. The Pope pushed open the door, gesturing for the confused soldier to go ahead of him._

_Berserker walked past the holy leader, entering into upper hallway of the building. Through the windows, he saw the bustling streets of Vatican City. He walked over to them, looking out at the city in awe._

"_The Vatican City-State," Berserker breathed out in admiration._

_The Pope chuckled from beside him._

"_It is quite beautiful, is it not?"_

"_To call it beautiful is like calling the Bible a nice book. A very gross understatement."_

"_You are correct, Alexander. May I call you Alexander?"_

_The named Alexander shook off his shock at seeing the center of the Catholic faith, remembering what he had followed the holy man for. He replied, "Yes, you may. But back to my original question: what happened?"_

_The Pope smiled at the soldier, a thoughtful look gracing his features._

"_How do I explain this? Alexander, do you believe in demons?"_

_Alexander looked confused at what the Pope was getting at, but figured that answering would get him the answers he was seeking._

"_I believe in God. To believe that God exists is to believe that Satan exists. And if Satan exists, then demons must exist as well. So yes, I do believe in demons."_

_The Pope smiled at man, and continued his explanation._

"_There are many different species of demons. One of these species are the creatures known as vampires."_

_Alexander stared at the holy leader in open-mouthed shock._

"_Are you trying to say that mythical dark creatures like vampires are real?! Next you'll be telling me werewolves and-and catboys exist!"_

_The Pope shrugged slightly, his graceful and holy look slipping away for a moment._

"_I'm not so sure about catboys, but werewolves do exist."_

_Alexander narrowed his eyes in anger, his teeth bared in a fierce sneer._

"_You actually expect me to believe this?! What proof do you have of any of this?!"_

_The Pope turned to him, all remnants of grace or kindness gone, revealing only a battle-hardened man, willing to sacrifice anything and everything to protect the innocent._

"_The proof is you. You are still alive, even after blowing your own brains out."_

_The young man rubbed his head, searching for any evidence of his supposed death against that monster that slaughtered his entire platoon._

_The soldier thought back to what had happened in that abandoned town. His superiors were obviously worried that someone was to empty out an entire town without anyone finding out. Captain Alexander Anderson and his Elite Task Force were sent in, armed to the teeth with top-of-the-line weapons to take down whoever had taken them. It wasn't long until they found someone, or rather, something._

_It was pure chance that they had come across it. They had been preparing to report back to base after three hours of finding nothing when one of the soldiers had noticed a dried bloodstain in the shadows of a side alley. They had followed the trail into the alley, and stumbled across a disgusting and gruesome sight. Several bloodstained and heavily injured…__**creatures**__ were in a small circle, eating the flesh off of several dead children and young adults. The copper scent of blood and rot of flesh permeated the area, making several officers gag in disgust._

_This proved to be their undoing. The creatures instantly turned to the soldiers, baring their sharp teeth and revealing their glowing purple eyes. Their humanoid forms gave the soldiers some pause, allowing the creatures to lunge at them and tear out the throats of five of them before they regained their senses and open fired._

_The creatures kept coming, ignoring all injuries except for those targeting the brain and heart, which immediately turned them to dust. After losing half of their original fifty men, they were able to take out the group of creatures._

_They continued through the alleys, shooting each and every creature they found to dust. Eventually they ended up face to face with a strange man, who was surrounded by the creatures, yet they didn't seem to be doing anything to him._

_He expressed his amusement that they had been able to kill his 'pets', and offered them a chance to join him, which was promptly refused via a grenade to the face and several to his 'pets'. The man easily shrugged them off, dashing through the men, killing each and every one of them with ease, leaving only Anderson against the monster._

_The soldier blinked, his vision transitioning from the decrepit town back to the Catholic city. He looked to his side, where the Pope was still standing, patiently waiting for his response._

"_That leads me to my second question. How am I still alive?"_

_The Pope smiled sadly at him, thinking over how to answer the question._

"_I suppose you could say we…resurrected you."_

_Anderson narrowed his eyes, focusing intently on the catholic man._

"_Explain."_

_It wasn't a question. It was an order from a threatened soldier._

_The Pope sighed, deciding to begin from the beginning._

"_Over 2000 years ago, our Savior, Jesus Christ, was born."_

_Anderson's anger began to pour out in waves. He was barely able to restrain himself from striking the man before him. The Pope saw this, and decided to hasten his explanation._

"_Jesus had 12 disciples, as you know. When the Holy Church was established, 13 sections were created, one for Jesus and each of his apostles. The Vatican, the face of the church, is Section I, also known as Christ. The people you just saw, who brought you back, were members of Section III, also known as Matthew. Their purpose is to locate and retrieve holy relics, as well as scientific research. It is the culmination of this research which revived you. You are a strong man, captain. You were able to fight off an army of ghouls, and stand against a vampire for a limited time. Not only that, but you were able to realize that creature was evil. Not many people have that skill. So we made you into a Regenerator. The perfect weapon to fight against the forces of darkness."_

_Anderson was quiet, trying to wrap his mind over everything he had just learned. It just seemed so unrealistic. But then, everything he had gone through in the past few hours that he could remember was unrealistic._

"_And if that doesn't satisfy you, maybe this will."_

_Anderson was snapped out of his thoughts by the Pope's voice, and looked over to the man, only to see him pointing a gun at his head._

"_What th' he-," was all he could say before the bang of the gun rang out and his head snapped back by the force of the bullet._

_Anderson's hand shot forward and gripped the holy leader's throat, lifting him off his feet. His eyes shimmering dangerously, he growled, "And just what th' hell was that, you son of a bitch?!"_

_The Pope smiled at him and pointed at the soldier's forehead, at the exact spot the bullet had impacted._

_Anderson's eyes widened and his hands shot to his forehead, dropping the Pope in the process. He probed his forehead, searching for the hole the bullet should have left. His search fruitless, he turned back to the holy leader, who was brushing dirt off his robes._

"_Just what th' hell happened?"_

_The Pope looked at him, a hint of amusement in his eyes._

"_You regenerated. Like I said, you were made into a regenerator, a human who can regenerate from even the most grievous of wounds. To accommodate such abilities, your body was also strengthened to a superhuman level. But now, you must make a choice. Will you fight alongside the church, or will you leave, to do as you please. You are too powerful for us to be able to prevent you from leaving. So, what is your choice?"_

_Anderson stared out the window again, out at the people walking through the streets, going through their peaceful lives, no worries about blood-sucking vampires or murderous zombies. Looking at those people, he made his choice._

"_Alright, ye've got yerself a soldier. Do with me what ye will."_

_The Pope smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder._

"_Welcome to the Vatican, Father Anderson."_

**XXXXX**

**1st Day  
Random Alleyway**

Kariya groaned, pushing himself off of the pile of trash he had been using as a mattress, grimacing as he felt the worms start squirming underneath his skin.

"So ye're awake, Master?" Berserker voice sounded from above him.

He tilted his head back and saw Berserker grinning down at him, crouching at the edge of the building's roof.

"Berserker? How long have you been up there?" The worm-infested man asked, flinching slightly as he felt one of the worms bite into his muscles.

Berserker hopped off the roof, landing a few feet away from his Master.

"I've been up there all night, making sure no one tried to come 'round this area. It wouldn't do if a Master found ye by chance and decided to off ye in yer sleep."

Kariya stood up and leaned against the wall before suddenly spasming in pain. He stumbled forward a couple of steps and fell to his knees, puking up copious amounts of blood and worms.

He stood up shakily, his body threatening to give out on him again. The mad Servant appeared on his left side, supporting his bum limbs.

"Master, ye should sit down fer a bit. We have to talk anyway," The large man said, looking worriedly at his Master.

Kariya nodded slowly, limping his way over to an old crate with Berserker's help, plopping down on top of it.

Both parties were silent, neither knowing how to start the conversation. Eventually Berserker decided to be blunt, and said, "That worm that ye call a father is planning on betraying ye and keeping th' lass whether or not you win th' Holy Grail."

Kariya was shocked…Actually, he wasn't shocked in the slightest. He knew that ancient worm would try something like this. This was exactly what that disgusting creature would do. He stated as much.

"This…doesn't shock me in the slightest, actually. That old worm would obviously try something. I…just didn't want to see it. I wanted to hold on to the illusion that there was some hope to save Sakura. I guess I'm just fool, huh," Kariya spoke, a small, sad smile on his face.

Berserker pushed his glasses back up his nose and chuckled, a soft smile tugging at his lips.

"Ye're not a fool at all, Master. Hope is the one thing humans have that can survive most anything. To give up yer hope, is to give up on life itself."

Kariya looked at Berserker in shock, not only at the words he spoke, but at the conviction those words were spoken with.

Kariya lowered his head and, to Berserker's surprise, started chuckling.

"You're right. I'm not a fool for having hope. I'm a fool for almost abandoning hope. Thanks for setting me straight, Father Anderson."

With those two words, Berserker instantly sobered up, all traces of kindness replaced by the seriousness of a true warrior.

"So ye've started to see into my past, have ye?"

Kariya knew the mood had changed, and just nodded in response.

Berserker sighed, massaging his temples to stave off the growing headache…figuratively anyway.

"What exactly did ye see?"

Kariya looked curiously at the Servant of madness, seeing only resigned acceptance on his face instead of the righteous anger he expected.

"I saw you fight against those ghouls and your conversation with the Pope."

"Ah, yes. That was when my life ended, and began anew."

A hybrid of a fond smile and a stern frown appeared on Berserker's face, giving him a constipated look.

Kariya took one look at the large man's face and burst out in laughter.

Berserker became confused, wondering what was so funny.

"Oi! What th' hell's so funny?"

Kariya just laughed him off before a sudden coughing fit cut him off. His coughing turned into a second puking fit, even more vital life fluid and magical worms being evacuated from his body.

Berserker grabbed the wobbling man to keep him from plummeting down to the ground.

"Are ye sure ye're okay, Master?"

Kariya wiped the blood and dead worms off his mouth, flinging both onto the grounds.

"No, I'm not. I'm dying. I have a month, if I'm lucky. But, I don't care if I die, as long as Sakura is safe."

Berserker chuckled, a grin on his face, and patted Kariya on the shoulder.

"Heh, It seems I got quite th' Master. To not care about his own life so long as he can rescue a child from a fate worse than death."

Kariya gave a pained grin, his shoulder aching from Berserker's superhuman strength. Berserker observed his Master a bit longer, contemplating something.

'_Could these worms be considered dark creatures? They devour human flesh and blood, so they probably could, and they are weak enough that I might be able to purify them. But could I do that without killing the holders?'_

Another question popped into Berserker's head.

"Master, if I may ask, why are ye going through all this trouble for th' lass? If my knowledge is correct, ye're not even related to her."

Kariya's eyes softened as a sad smile appeared on his face.

"Because I love like she was own daughter. Her mother, Aoi, is the love of my life. The only woman I will ever love. But I gave her up, to protect her."

Berserker's face hardened as he glared at a wall, guessing just what his Master had to protect this woman from.

"To protect her from th' worms, correct?"

Kariya nodded, staring at his left hand as the worms bulged beneath it.

"Any magus woman accepted into the family must undergo the Matou Magecraft Inheritance Ceremony. Just like Sakura is undergoing now. I love Aoi. I couldn't let her or any children we may have had go through that. So, I let her go, so she could be happy with someone else."

Berserk grinned at his Master, impressed by his love for this woman.

"He, I really do have quite th' Master, don't I? To go through such things for this woman, your love is truly true."

Kariya's smile widened slightly, changing from sad to embarrassed, as he rubbed his head.

"You really think so?"

Berserker's grin turned melancholic as he gazed into the sky.

"Aye, I do. There was this woman, back when I was a soldier. She was amazing. Beautiful aqua hair, hypnotizing green eyes, a body women would kill to have and men would kill to be with. She was kind, smart, able to shoot th' wings off a fly from 200 yards. Th' perfect woman. Better yet, she loved me, too."

Kariya looked at the reminiscing Servant and recognized the look in his eyes: sorrow.

"What happened to her?"

Berserker's smile became sad.

"She died on a mission. She was sent out on a mission during wartime. Ended up with a bullet through th' head."

Kariya shifted awkwardly, regretting asking that question.

"I'm sorry."

Berserker waved him off.

"It's all right. I came to terms with her death long ago. I know she wouldn't want me to spend my life grieving."

Kariya smiled slightly at Berserker.

"I wish I could've been lucky enough to spend time with Aoi as lovers."

Berserker shoved him lightly, which was enough to almost send him flying off his seat.

"At least th' woman ye love is still alive."

Kariya chuckled.

"Yeah, at least I got that going for me."

Berserker laughed with the man as their camaraderie began to deepen through the sharing of stories of their loves.

"By th' way Master, what are yer plans now that ye know of that worm's deceptions."

Kariya sighed, resting his head in his non-dead limb.

"I'm not sure. For now I'll work on winning the Grail, but I should probably have a backup plan, too."

Berserker scratched his stubble thoughtfully, carefully considering what else they could do before coming up with an idea.

"We could ally ourself with other Masters and perform a raid on the manor."

Kariya shook his head.

"I doubt they'd go for it. They'd probably go with kill now, ask questions later."

Berserker shrugged.

"Maybe, but ye never know. Ye could give it a shot."

Kariya sighed again, thinking intently about what had just been discussed.

"I guess I'll pursue the Grail for now, and keep storming the manor as a backup if I'm able to amass enough support or don't have a chance of winning. Hang on Sakura, I promise I'll save you."

The last sentence was said under his breath, but Berserker heard it anyway and shot the magus a grin.

"I don't doubt it for a second, Master."

Kariya returned Berserker's grin with a small smile of his own. The moment was ruined when a loud growling noise sounded throughout the alley, followed by a slight reddening of the right side of his face.

"But before anything else, I need something to eat."

With that, he hopped off the crate and started hobbling down the narrow path supported by Berserker.

**XXXXX**

"_Ha! You're not even a noble demon. What are you even doing here?" A creature that looked like a zombie said with an extremely childlike sounding voice, glowering at the young girl in front of it, who glared right back._

"_What are you looking at? Step aside, __**commoner**__!" A second demon said in an equally childlike tone, spitting the word __commoner__ like an insult. Its entire body covered leaving only a shadow of its face and glowing white eyes to be seen, throwing a punch at the female demon in front of it._

_The girl was sent sprawling onto the ground. She picked herself back up and shouted at the two other demons, "St-stop it. I said stop it!"_

"_Why should we, __**commoner**__?" The zombie asked rhetorically, throwing a punch of its own at the girl, sending her back to the ground._

_She let out a cry of pain as a sharp rock cut into her leg, spilling some blood._

"_Ha! Serves you right bitch. You're just a commoner. You should learn not to mess with us nobles," The imp-like demon said condescendingly, it and its friend laughing at the girl's pain._

_The girl forced herself not to cry, her eyes shining with tears waiting to be spilled._

_A loud bark sounded from behind the demons. Startled, they whirled around, face to face with a demonic dog with blue and white fur and a large red afro and afro-tipped tail._

"_What the hell do you want? H-huh, dog," The faery said nervously._

_The demon dog growled lowly, tensing his legs to lunge._

"_H-hey, you better not do what you're about to do! We're nobles! You'll get in trouble!" The zombie said, backing away fearfully._

_The dog leaped at the noble demons, barking ferociously._

"_Ahhh! Let's get outta here!" The cloaked demon shouted, running off._

"_H-hey, wait for me!" The zombie called after its friend, taking off as the dog tried to take a chunk out of its leg._

_The girl just laid on the ground, her eyes shut as she waited for the newly-arrived demon to finish her off. What she didn't expect was for the dog to trot over to her and start licking her cheek, whimpering worriedly._

"_H-hey! Stop that," the girl said weakly, looking at the demon from the corner of her eye._

_The dog stopped and backed away, whimpering lightly._

_The girl pushed herself into a sitting position, looking warily at the dog._

"_Why'd you help me anyway? You could've gotten hurt."_

_The dog barked happily, panting lightly in excitement. The girl was silent for a bit, just looking at the happy demon dog._

"_You have a name? I'm Etna."_

_The dog barked loudly, not really giving an answer._

"_I guess I'll just give you a name then. How about Scorlia?"_

_The dog barked happily, his tongue lolling out of its mouth. Etna grinned at the dog, standing up and brushing dirt off her dress._

"_Kay, thanks for helping me. I'm gonna go now," She said, walking off._

_She got a few steps before suddenly stopping in her tracks, a second set of footsteps stopping shortly after. She twirled around on her heel and saw Scorlia following her._

"_No, stop following me. You go home, or wherever you live."_

_Scorlia whimpered sadly, his tail dipping between his legs. Etna frowned for a moment, contemplating what to do._

"_Fine, you can come with me, but just this once, alright?"_

_Scorlia barked happily, his tail coming up to wag madly. Etna turned around and continued on her way, the demonic dog right on her heels._

_**XXXXX**_

_Etna had made it back to her hiding spot in the alleyway of a large demon city, Scorlia sitting next to her, munching on some bread she had stolen a few minutes prior._

"_You sure eat a lot for something so weak. I mean, you're even eating my food, too."_

_Scorlia finished off the bread, whimpering slightly afterwards. Etna glared faintly at the demonic dog._

"_I don't have any more food. If you want more, you'll have to steal some on your own."_

_She stood up and started to walk off._

"_I'm going now. Buh-bye."_

_Scorlia whimpered again, sitting in place. Etna just walked on, ignoring the whimpering pup._

_**XXXXX**_

_Etna was crying over the body of Scorlia, who had just been killed by the noble demons that had attacked her earlier._

"_Why? Why did you kill him?"_

_The zombie sputtered slightly, knowing that killing was strictly forbidden inside the Overlord's Castle._

"_That dog tried to get into the food storage! It's his own fault!"_

"_I had no choice! Come on, let's go!" The faery spluttered, running off with his undead friend._

_Etna closed her eyes, trying to force the tears back._

"_Why did you…? You were so weak…Idiot…"_

_A noble walked into the main hall, exuding an aura of power and authority. He was obviously the Overlord, ruler of the Netherworld. He smiled upon seeing Etna and walked over to her._

"_Ah, so here you are. How are you doing? Are you getting used to your new home?"_

_Etna was silent, her body shielding Scorlia from the Overlord's view. The Overlord frowned, wondering what was wrong._

"_Is something wrong?"_

_Etna was silent for a moment before answering, "It's nothing…It's just…some noble demon killed this dog. But it's okay…I won't go hungry anymore…Kinda glad…"_

_Etna was silent, still attempting to keep the tears from falling._

"_You should be true to your heart. You're sad, aren't you?"_

_Etna was surprised at the powerful demon's question, looking back at him in shock._

"_Huh?"_

_The Overlord smiled down at her._

"_You don't have to pretend to be strong."_

_**XXXXX**_

_Etna sat on a tombstone, her legs dangling over the side._

"_You're kinda strange. You didn't have to dig a grave for it."_

_The Overlord looked over at her, the shovel he used to dig the grave slung over his shoulder._

"_Am I?"_

"_Yes. You're not like other demons. And inviting a commoner like me to stay at the Overlord's Castle is unheard of."_

_The Overlord was silent for a moment before responding._

"_Do you believe that nobles should reign over everyone else?"_

_The female demon was silent, wondering what the man in front of her was getting at._

"_Does being a noble or a commoner, or even a demon or an angel really matter? Is our discrimination necessary? Should we not strive for a world where everyone is treated equally, despite their class or species?"_

_Etna looked at him like he had grown a second head. _

"_You're really strange."_

_Then she smiled up at him._

"_But, if you're going to make the Netherworld a better place, I wanna help you do it."_

_The Overlord smiled back at the demon girl._

"_I promise to make the Netherworld a better place to live."_

_**XXXXX**_

_Lancer appeared in the Throne Room of a castle._

"_Did you call for me, my Lord?"_

_The Overlord rose from his throne, running his hand through his hair._

"_It's about my son, Laharl."_

"_Oh, that brat…Oops! So, what about the Prince?" Lancer's expression soured slightly as she spoke about the Prince._

_The Overlord walked down the Throne Room, Lancer right at his side._

"_I am old and I don't know when I'll be defeated by another demon."_

"_You'll never be defeated…" Lancer looked shocked that he would even consider the possibility of being defeated._

_The Overlord chuckled at the female demon's admiration._

"_I'm just saying 'if'. If I die, the Netherworld will be plunged into chaos once again. Many demons will come after Laharl to become the next Overlord."_

_He stopped in his tracks and looked at Lancer, the demon girl looking back at him quizzically._

"_Etna, this is not an order, but a promise between you and me."_

_Etna looked confused._

"_Promise…?"_

"_If I die, will you please protect Laharl? And make sure Laharl becomes a great Overlord?"_

_Etna sighed, holding her head in her hand._

"_If it's you, I can't really refuse, can I?"_

_The Overlord smiled at her._

"_Of course you can refuse. I will not force you to do something you're not comfortable with."_

_Etna sighed again._

"_That's not what I meant. After all you've done for me, there's no way my conscience will let me refuse. Yeah, I promise I'll protect the Prince."_

"_Thank you, Etna"_

**XXXXX**

**1st Day  
Kayneth's Hotel Room**

"Ugh, my back's killing me," Kayneth groaned as he got up off the room's couch, having been forced by Lancer to give up his bed to her. He could've gone to Sola's room, but she would have flat-out refused to let him in her bed anyway, so couch it was.

"So, that was Lancer's past," Kayneth said to himself, staring intently at his Command Seals, wondering how a commoner could've been acknowledged by royalty. She had been nothing but a weak commoner, so how could the ruler of a world of demons have accepted her? Why had such a man wished for peace between two species on the opposite sides of the moral compass? How could a demon be so compassionate?

As he contemplated these thoughts, he didn't notice Lancer and Sola had woken up and convened in the kitchen.

Kayneth didn't notice Lancer coming up behind him until she yanked on his ear, hard.

"GAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Kayneth screamed in pain, holding his sore ear. He turned to his cheekily grinning Servant and yelled, "What the hell was that for?"

Lancer kept grinning as she replied, "Me and Sola are hungry. Get your ass in gear and let's grab something to eat."

Kayneth looked at her in disbelief.

"Go out? When you look like that?"

Lancer continued to grin.

"I can hide my demonic features easily."

To demonstrate, Lancer was enveloped in darkness. When the dark shroud dissipated, Lancer's appearance had changed. Her ears were now rounded, as were her pupils, though her eyes still retained their red color. Her tail and wings had disappeared as well. All in all, she looked like a perfectly normal, albeit skimpily dressed, girl.

Kayneth facepalmed at Lancer's new appearance.

"That's not what I…You know what? I don't care anymore! Let's just go."

Kayneth grabbed his coat off the chair he had tossed it on last night and slipped it on. He walked towards the door, Sola and Lancer following behind him, and stopped with his hand on the handle of the door. He turned to the two females, Lancer in particular.

"If anyone asks, you're our daughter…And you're 15…And a late bloomer…And extremely rebellious."

"Yeah, yeah, let's just go already."

Kayneth just shook his head, opened the door and left, the redheads right behind him.

**XXXXX**

**Omake: Alternate Servants  
Archer**

As the light from the summoning began to die down, an ominous feeling overwhelmed Tokiomi.

'_What is this feeling of impending doom I'm feeling? Surely Gilgamesh can't be __**that**__ bad."_

The Servant that had appeared was certainly not Gilgamesh. He was tall. Taller than any normal man. He wore a long, red overcoat over a charcoal colored suit, leather riding boots, along with a red cravat around his neck. On his face were a pair of orange-tinted, goggle-sided sunglasses shadowed by a crimson, wide-brimmed fedora. Hidden by his accessories were blood-red eyes and messy, black hair. On his hands he wore white gloves that were adorned with five-pointed seals on the back. In addition to his outlandish appearance, he had an animalistic, fanged grin and an aura that reeked of blood and death.

"Kehehehehehe! What is this wonderful feeling? Surely, the only thing this could be is Anderson's enthralling presence! This is it! The chance for a rematch! The fight of a thousand lifetimes!" The man…no, monster cackled evilly.

"W-who are you?" Tokiomi asked in fear as the monster's aura threatened to consume him.

Archer's eyes snapped to the pale magus, causing even more blood to drain from the man's face as Archer's grin grew.

"Who am I? _Who am I?_ I am the King of Vampires, the No-Life King, The Impaler Lord, Count Dracula! I am **Alucard**! Now stand aside, _Master_, I have a priest to kill."

Without waiting for a response, the self-proclaimed Alucard shoved the Tohsaka Head out of his way, sending him flying into a wall, while smashing through the opposite wall and into the city, his large hand-cannons blasting.

In his attempt to find his arch-nemesis, Alucard released his Level Zero Restriction, flooding the city with his familiars, assimilating nearly everyone in the city into him. Anderson eventually revealed himself and fought against Alucard in an all-out, no-holds-barred, fight to the death which ended up utterly destroying the city and revealing magic to the world.

With the existence of magic revealed, the Holy Church and the Mage's Association allied with each other to fight against the world's unified army, with the mundane people killing all but the most powerful and most cowardly of their number with their advanced weaponry, which included Zelretch who fled to a parallel dimension to escape the World Civil War.

And throughout the entire war, there was one area which nobody went near: Ground Zero; the remains of Fuyuki City itself, where the No-Life King Alucard and the Judas Priest Alexander Anderson were still fighting to this day.

**XXXXX**

**Did you enjoy the chapter? The Omake?**

**Next chapter will definite be the harbor fight...probably...maybe...Anyway, we'll see how things play out.**

**Now type in that box down there and send some reviews with anything you wanna say. Positive things, negative things, random things unrelated to the story, and anything in-between.**

**Be brutal, it's how I learn.**

**Alright, until next time, loyal fans.**


	4. IMPORTANT NOTICE SUPREME!

**I'm sorry, but this is not a chapter. It is, however, something much more important. I will continue to write my story, so fret not. But read the notice, please.**

* * *

**Not since The Purge has something threatened our way of life so greatly. For those of you who don't know what The Purge is, it is the event that happened last year where a bunch of fucking trolls whined to the Fanfiction Mods and got over 60,000 fics deleted, just because they had mature stuff in them.**

**My friends, SOPA has been resurrected once again. It has been revived through the power of goddam politics AGAIN!**

**For those of you who don't know what SOPA is, it is the internet "Protection" act that will have streams a video, whether it be on youtube, a walkthrough for a video game, or a kid singing a song that is 'copyrighted' they will be treated as a felon and THROWN IN PRISON!**

**This is worse than The Purge, because instead of deleting a bunch of fics, it will get the site shut down, and all of us tossed in jail!**

**And not just Fanfiction will be affected, all of the sites we use will be shut down. Our anime-watching sites, manga-reading sites, and everything in-between will be removed from the internet.**

**The link below will direct you to a Youtube video that explains it better than me. Remember to remove the spaces.**

**********www . youtube . com**/watch?v=1fTt4K4Cae4

**And here's a link to a petition to keep SOPA from going through. Again, remove the spaces.**

** petitions . whitehouse . gov**/petition/stop-sopa-2013/LMzMVrQF

**We need to stop this, now! Before it spreads too far and destroys everything we've worked so hard on! Before we lose the freedom to express ourselves! Repost it on your stories, forums, blogs, anywhere, EVERYWHERE! JUST MAKE IT KNOWN BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!**


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